The Face Others See:

Something To Think About, The Face Others See:

Last week when President Obama delivered the State of the Union address, Speaker of the House, John Boehner, spent a bit over an hour looking over the president's shoulder.   Actually, millions were looking at Boehner as the President spoke.  True, just past Obama's right shoulder Vice -President Biden was also looking at the camera, but for him the task at hand was fairly easy.  He is in the same political party as the President and supports the Administration's policies.  If he can master a supportive, interested expression, and chuckle at the jokes, he's pretty well got it made.   Boehner, on the other hand, had to master a whole dictionary of facial language.   The "I don't agree, but I'm still respectful" look, or the "in spite of the fact that I disagree with most of what this man says, I agree with this one point" expression."  There is the "over my dead body" glare, and the "I'm just as patriotic as you" glow.  Not to mention the "I'm trying to look interested even though I know exactly what you are going to say" body language. I'll let the pundits pontificate on how the Speaker did--that is if they have time left after discussing really important news, like deflated footballs--what I'm really interested in is, "What kind of face am I showing the world around me?"  In one of the most misunderstood and misapplied passages in the Bible, 1 Corinthians 9:19-23, the Apostle Paul makes clear that he cared a great deal how others saw him.  Too many of my sisters and brothers have adapted an "It's my right to look the way I want to look" attitude.  It's easy to act/look outraged, angry, insulted, or slighted for selfish reasons.  "Every body else wears their feelings on their sleeve, why can't I?"  Too many of us have become holy drama queens. John Boehner said that at the State of the Union his job is to stare at the back of the President's head and make no news.  That's not a bad paradigm for we followers of Christ. We have a message that the world very much needs to hear.  Let's make sure that the way we look out at the world doesn't detract. It's STTA.